Supporting impactful community research
Our grants and research awards are designed to seed-fund research projects led by experienced academic researchers and community researchers/service providers collaborating to address gaps in community mental health and addressing community needs, while integrating the insights of people with lived experience into each stage of their project.
Nikki-Rose Hunter-Porter
Mental wellness services in rural First Nations communities do not always reflect local knowledge, priorities and experiences. Working with St’uxwstews te Secwépemc of Bonaparte First Nation in British Columbia, Nikki-Rose Hunter-Porter explored the social, cultural and systemic barriers shaping access to care and identified community-grounded directions for more culturally safe and responsive services.
Nashit Chowdhury
During the COVID-19 pandemic, racialized essential workers faced overlapping health risks, financial uncertainty and barriers to culturally responsive mental health supports. Nashit Chowdhury combined MHRC national polling data with interviews in Calgary to examine these pressures and the strategies workers used to cope, generating evidence to inform more accessible and inclusive community supports.